


Count your Favors

by LixaLizz



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Argo II (Percy Jackson), Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Insecure Leo Valdez, M/M, Sad Leo Valdez, valdangelo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 11:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17304032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LixaLizz/pseuds/LixaLizz
Summary: The 6 times Repair Boy saved Ghost King and the one time he returned the favor.





	Count your Favors

**Author's Note:**

> one of my first Valdangelo writings  
> constructive criticism is welcome

Leo Valdez sat comfortably on the mast of his ship—Argo II. It was his shift for the night watch. Look out for monsters.

He didn't mind. Besides, the coolness of the summer breeze made him smile. Nothing could cool him down more than mother nature itself. Or was it the wind? Zephyrus?

Leo didn't know, but he also couldn't care less. As long as his body didn't overheat like it once did in Texas.

The night was calm, as was the waves of the ocean. He smiled. The salty air was tranquil. The quietness, despite the waves kissing the side of the boat made him serene. He took a deep breath in. He could get used to this--if ever Gaea _did_ get defeated. If this was how captains felt sailing the seas, then he'd spend his days cruising the Pacific. Maybe even the Atlantic ocean. Still, though, he couldn't dream like that. Not when he was a demigod, where he had more chances of dying than living until at the end of the quest.

There were no signs of Venti or any other sea monster that could potentially kill him. Not until there was a clatter at the bottom of the ropes. He swiftly stood up, ready to fight whatever was coming his way. 

A mop of black hair popped into his peripheral. Leo squinted. "Di Angelo?" he whispered.

The person hissed. "Valdez."

Leo scrunched up his nose. "What are you doing up?" He tapped his fingers on the log he was sitting on. "What? It's got to be at least midnight." He sat back down. He decided there was no serious threat. Besides, he didn't think Nico would be one to kill him.

Leo then hesitated. He scratched the back of his neck, trying to actually conclude whether it was a threat. He hoped Nico wasn't. 

"It's none of your business," Nico snapped, climbing up the rest of the mast. He managed to quickly place himself next to Leo without sneering. There was no space to move—or even to turn his head away.

"Whatever," Leo said back, a trace of bitterness in his voice. He was just trying to be nice, after all.

There was complete silence between the two after that. None of them saying anything. Leo kept glancing at Nico as if the Latino boy knew he planned something. Nothing happened. At least for a while. 

"So," Leo said, clearing his voice. He hated silence, even though he was admiring it not too long ago. He decided that it was because he was alone then. Nico was with him now. Silence with someone else was just... disturbing to him. It reminded him of his foster homes. He internally made a face. How he hated those days.

"So what," Nico answered not too long after. 

Leo shrugged. "You come here in the middle of the night often? Now what. We just wait in silence. What are we— _you_ waiting for?"

Nico brushed his bangs out if his face. "Like I said,  _Valdez. Not. Your. Business._ " The son of Hades took a look at Leo. He had grime on his face--no doubt from the oil he used to patch up Festus earlier in the day. He had sweat perspiring on his forehead, as if he was nervous. Nico rolled his eyes. "Stop looking at me like that, too."

Leo turned away at that. "Fine."

They sat in silence after that.

 

 

It was the crack of dawn that made Nico move. It was still Leo's shift to watch the deck, so he promptly stayed in his place as Nico muttered something and started to descend down the ropes. He made a loud thud upon going down.

Leo flicked a stray piece of hair out if his eyes. He tapped his fingers along the lining of the mast—probably Morse code stuff—it was his muscle memory taking over. He yawned. "What a night," he murmured to himself. He peered down to gaze at Nico, which he didn't hear leave the deck. He was situated by the lounging hall doors, where he looked as if he didn't want to get caught. 

A cold breeze slapped his cheek. Good thing he had an abnormal body temperature—the sudden cold breeze would've made a normal demigod shiver to the bone. He glanced at Nico, who indeed was clutching his aviator jacket to contain his body heat.

"Hey di Angelo!" Leo called out. He wanted to make sure he was okay, as Nico was standing still and haven't moved a foot in the time he got to that spot. 

Nico looked at him, and his eyes went still. He jerked his head towards the railing of Argo II, where Leo finally noticed a strange dent. He squinted.

_"Ah_ ," he thought to himself, " _Venti._ " He got up and tried climbing down the mast, where he was suddenly knocked down midway.

"Valdez," Nico muttered. "You're such an idiot."

Leo groaned at this.

"Not helping!" he said back, brushing off his knees before summoning a ball of fire in his hand. He threw aimlessly at the sound of the air whipping. Straight on, the Venti made a cry. 

Nico reluctantly jogged next to Leo when he got his sword out. It was forged out of Stygian iron. He slashed at the Venti, earning another moan from its mouth. Leo joined in the fight again, throwing a much bigger ball of flame into the gut of it--if that Venti even had a gut.

It swooped down low into the valley between Nico and Leo, and set Nico tripping through air--literally. 

"Ah shit," Nico seethed, carefully getting up. He was trying to balance his weight when Leo's face split into a grin. "Language," he mocked. He had never heard Nico swear before, but he had always suspected he did. Nico had just confirmed his suspicions.

Nico turned to glare at him, but the Venti swooped down again. This time, though, tthe Venti managed to swirl up Nico into the air, leaving Nico muttering a string of curses that Leo would never have thought of Nico saying. Leo made a face. "Hold on!"

His heart was racing? I mean, whose heart wouldn't? He bit his lip as he felt a fiery sensation in his palm. He squinted one eye, just to make sure he didn't miss.

"Valdez!" Nico yelled. He was slashing at the Venti, though it probably didn't do anything. "Hurry up!"

That made Leo panic. Because, one, he was trying, two, he couldn't be rushed--his aim was spectacular when he actually tried--and three, he noticed the strain in Nico's voice, like he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. Like he was suffocating in the fresh air. 

That made Leo consider pressing his "panic-y button", which was dubbed by the inventor himself. Essentially, he had rigged a system of alarms throughout the ship, just in case something happened not one person could handle. 

Nico yelled something again. Something along the lines of "Don't press that stupid button or I'll send your soul to Gaea herself!" Leo didn't find it amusing, but rather scary. Gaea had messed up his life. He furrowed his eyebrows. He tried shaking it off so he could focus.

"Shut up man, I'm trying to save you!" 

Nico made a face.

Leo tried not to get that stupid comment into his head. He threw the ball of fire, which had depleted into a ball or smoke right on the pressure point of the monster. Leo was definitely sweaty now. That had drained most of his energy. He took up his voice and tried to holler across the deck.

"Nico! Watch out!"

It all happened in slow motion. Leo had stopped shaking. It was times like these that made him nervous. On edge. They made him  _scared._ And yes, there  _was_  no point in being scared. Jason was fearless. So was Annabeth, Percy,  _and even Piper for crying out loud._ He wasn't sure what the big dude thought--Frank Zhang. He was pretty tough, didn't really show any weaknesses accept to the team. And especially Hazel.

And oh god, Hazel. Hazel Levesque. Miss Metal Detector and Wild Horse Wrangler. The embodiment of "peace and love" but with the risky skills of killing you in an instant. No hesitation. No questions. She was a charmer for sure.  _Do no harm, take no harm, unless they deserve it._

Leo took in a breath. He started sprinting to the other side of the deck. The winds were sharper now, even though the Venti was gone. Nico yelled out something. 

The Latino boy boy managed to get Nico back onto his feet after he had fallen. "Dude," Leo mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. Nico scowled at him.

"You better not mention this to  _anybody._ You understand that, Valdez?"

Leo put his hands up in surrender. "Uh, yeah, sure di Angelo. Whatever." He had hoped that Nico wouldn't say that. Practically saving the Ghost King was... something that made Leo smile. No matter how creepy he made him feel.

Nico brushed his bangs to the side of his forehead again. He had a hard to read expression on his face, but his eyes were gleaming with smugness. Leo didn't like that look so he turned his head away. "Well, McShizzle man here is kinda tired. I'll be in the uh, engine room if you need me. I'm sending Jason out for his shift."

He hesitated before walking away. Should he say something? Should he actually pretend nothing ever happened? Should he ask all the questions that were swimming in his head? 

Before he could make a single decision, the son of Hades cleared his throat. "Don't tell anyone I came out here either." 

Leo had his back slouched over. "Uh, sure? I mean I guess so."

After hearing that, Nico's stance seemed more relaxed, in a way. "Thanks," he said in reply, in a monotone voice. None of his emotions he felt didn't seem to be rubbing off on his voice. Leo wasn't sure what to think. So instead, he waved his hand and mumbled a "see you later" to the Italian boy.

Nico watched as Leo walked away with a wrench in his hand, humming a tune he was sure was from a show he would never watch. He paused. Before melting back into the shadows, he made a mental reminder.

**_Favors owed:_ ** _**2** _

 

* * *

 

He was thinking about some stupid thoughts and stupid people and the stupid prophecy and stupid gods. He was thinking about stupid  _everything._

The front deck had a silver bell attached to it, thanks to Leo, to signal if everyone needed to come to the mess hall for a meeting, sometimes used to tell everyone they were going to have a "family bonding time by eating together". Nico didn't like doing that, but he complied anyway. Not like he had anything better to do.

 Just as he expected, the silver bells rang with slow echo. Everyday for the past few days--which felt like weeks, even literal years--Leo freaking Valdez would ring that stupid bell at the sudden moment of dawn. 

He sat up , stretching his arms, before yawning. Gods, he hated his life.

He made his way over to the mess hall, which took longer than necessary. He automatically took a seat by Hazel, which was in the corner of the table. 

"Is everybody here now?" Leo asked when he had entered the room, sticking up a few fingers while he took a look at every demigod in the room. "Argh," he groaned. "Jason's not here yet. I need to inform everybody of the weather. It's gunna get a  _lot more_ bumpy." 

The Latino boy then slapped his forehead and sighed. "Uh," he coughed. "I need to check the engine, and repair it and make sure it doesn't overheat. As a safety thing, nobody's going to go up on the main deck alone. The area we're passing by, has myths and stuff where bad things happen. So, yeah. McShizzle's out now. Make sure to tell Jason. And if anyone needs me, I'll be in the boiler room."

He made a quick glance around the room. Nobody said anything. He shrugged and walked out of the room.

Nico watched him as he did, and rubbed his shoulder. He was so damn cold. 

"That was short," Frank noted. Annabeth agreed with a solemn nod. Percy didn't say anything. Instead, he looked like his spirit was distant. He picked at the table's top. "Huh," he mumbled. "Yeah." 

Hazel looked at Frank, who was on the right of her, and then Nico, who was on the left.

"And Leo seemed a bit off," she hummed.

She took Nico's hand into her own and gave a squeeze. "Well, I'll be in the armory room with Frank. He's going to teach me how to shoot an arrow!" She looked so enthusiastic, so Nico smiled. Hazel smiled back, let go of his arm, and dragged Frank out of the room. Piper trailed along, looking annoyed. She came up with some bull crap excuse and left with a slam of the door. With that, he decided he didn't want to be alone in the room with just Annabeth and Percy. So as any average person would, he rocked he chair back to get up.

He had also scraped his chair against the floor while standing up. He was thing of heading to the main deck--but oh, _wait._ He couldn't--so he followed in pursuit. He was just a few feet by the door, before Annabeth nudged him from behind. Nico jumped, and quickly unsheathed a little pocket knife form his belt. Reflexively, he gripped the knife hard and angled it at such a beautiful, dangerous way.

"Woah!" Annabeth, exclaimed. "It's just me, Nico."

Realizing that it wasn't a threat, something that he had to get used to—getting ambushed/almost killed/dangerously close to death and all gave him so much paranoia that it was unbelievable—he quickly dropped his hand to his side. "Oh," he mumbled, "sorry. It's basically reflex now."

Annabeth didn't reply, only led Nico out into the hall. Nico tried to scowl. He didn't like it. He just wanted to be up _in that damn mast._ Percy was still in the other room, and before closing the doors, Annabeth said she needed a minute. Percy seemed like he didn't mind. 

"What?" he asked once his foot reached the stupid wood flooring of the outside hallway.

Annabeth gave him a stare. It wasn't the cold, hard death  _glare_ she usually used, but it was still intimidating. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Nico knew that she had hesitated before speaking. He was intrigued now—what made the daughter of Athena so _..._ what had made her _stall?_ A beat of silence passed.

"Are you okay?"

She had asked a question, but it sounded more like an assumption. 

"Yeah," he said sarcastically, "being on a floating deathbed with other demigods going towards literal death makes me just a-okay." He slipped off Annabeth's hand off his shoulder, and stared back at her with a daring look. 

"Fine. Whatever. Don't tell me. But di Angelo, you _better know that we care about you_." She gave him one last look of expectancy. She looked over shoulder again as she opened the door. "Fine," she mouthed.

Nico was confused. What just happened? He shrugged it off, because anything that happened with Annabeth seemed to be a surprise to him.

Then, he clenched his jaw  _because that's not what happens to a child of the big three. Hades to be exact._

He felt his legs moving to the infirmary room, where he had recently decided to sleep. Because it was just so unfortunate that there were no cabins/rooms left for him. He sat on a cot. 

He wasn't okay.

He was  _so_ not okay.

 

 

 He didn't know when or why and how he fell asleep. He couldn't recall what his thoughts were before drifting onto the land of Z's.

 The rocking of the room was definitely one of the reason why Valdez had said--no,  _ordered_ \--why then couldn't do things alone on that ship while they were flying over some specific area. The cabinets that hung on the wall rattled with the ambrosia inside of it. He shuddered. Those sounds made his insides clench. Too many memories resurfaced with those sounds alone.

And not to mention the howling wind that shot up against the side of the boat. Every blow he could feel shake the ship, and every whip made his heart beat faster.

He sat up. He needed to distract himself. Like all those years ago, he would need something that would make him snap out of the trance. He slid his legs over the edge of the bed, and tapped a foot on the ground. His eyes were still adjusting to the semidarkness, which was handled by a single flame of light in a nearby light bulb. 

He was standing. Now what?

He started wandering around the ship. Well, to be more specific, he wandered down the cabin halls. He contemplated on who to wake. He didn't want to wake Hazel up. He didn't think he needed her saving. It was suppose to be the other way around.  _He_ was supposed to save her. But it was whatever. He wouldn't wake her anyway. She didn't need the stress of knowing that he was suffering. 

That night, Hazel had wished that he knew that times have changed.

He considered taking the offer from Annabeth. Talk to her. Then he reconsidered. Because yeah, he was petty like that, so out of spite he didn't. Frank and Percy were already out of the picture. The gods only know what would happen if he did. 

Piper?

No. He mentally shook his head.

Jason?

Possibly. But he assumed since he wasn't in the mess hall when he needed to be, he told himself he shouldn't wake him.

And just plain barf if he caught him with Piper. Ugh.

He took a deep breath in. He guessed he was alone on this panic attack tonight. He made his way to the nearest wall, where he placed himself on the floor. He leaned his head against the thin paint. He let the waterworks roll.

 

 

Leo was just around the corner. He needed some Advil from the infirmary. He had a mind splitting headache he couldn't figure out. And yeah, who said demigods couldn't take mortal medicine? They were half  _mortal_ after all, and there wasn't a good reason to waste something like ambrosia.

His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. He had wiped the tip of the nose with the back of his arm--his hands were greasy--and started to walk to the medical area. His collarless t-shirt hand a black marking on it, from a accidental burn stain. He figured that everybody would be asleep right about now, and made the quick decision of washing his laundry. He yanked his shirt off his head and started feeling the thin fabric where the burn was. The texture was rough yet pleasant, like watercolor paper.

He was just about halfway across the hallway when he heard a sniffle. A quickly lit his index finger into a single flame--because no one can be too safe, right? He held his shirt close to his chest as he approached. 

He rolled his eyes. "Di Angelo," murmured.

Nico looked up, red rimmed eyes and all. His cheeks were red--which were an improvement from the already pasty white skin he had. Nico stiffened, because who wouldn't after being caught crying in the middle of the night to a person he wasn't exactly friends with. Leo kind of froze, too. He had never seen Nico so vulnerable.

Leo then blushed. "Gods, uh, hold on," he whispered. He extinguished the tiny fire and pulled his shirt back on. He stood awkwardly because he didn't know what to do. He scratched the back of his neck, despite the fact that the darkness wasn't helping anyone see at all.

"C-could you do that again."

Leo leaned his head in further. He almost didn't catch that. "What?"

"Could you light your finger, again."

He paused before setting himself next to the Italian boy. He had left about a foot and a half between them, so it didn't get to weird. He crossed his legs in a childish manner and stroked his hands between his strands of hair. "Uh, yeah, sure."

He held up his hand to his face and created a fire in the palm of his hand. He noticed Nico more clearly now. His knees were touching his chest, and it looked like he didn't change from the last time he saw him. 

Leo averted his eyes everywhere but Nico, because of how weird and unusual this was. If a Venti came imploding in right now--or even if a half forgotten god came swimming through those waves--to Leo that would be more normal than this. It would be more normal than sitting next to Nico  _freaking_ di Angelo-- _yes! The_ Nico--and showing off his fire abilities to him because the Ghost King himself asked.

After his mind splitting headache--which was ironic because all the gods who have split into two because of this current war--had gotten worse, he bundled up his courage to clear his throat. He slapped a half bad grin on his face and spoke.

"Look, I uh--I mean do you-do you wanna talk about, er whatever-"

Nico made eye contact with Leo. His piercing glare made Leo cut short. "No," he roughly said. His voice was quiet, which honestly was suspected because of his... crying.

Leo frowned, but tried to bring a smile on anyway. "Well, I have to go to the infirmary. I have this mind splitting headache and I really don't want to die that way."

Nico dropped his eyes back to Leo's palm. The fire had died down, but was still a blazing orange. "What?"

Leo forced himself to chuckle, then cursed himself because now the Italian boy would think Leo was laughing at him. He set his hand down lower. "This fire is really burning up my energy-" Leo smiled at himself for that one, and he had swore he saw the tips of Nico's lips curl up before setting back into a thin, unreadable line. "-and I have this major headache. But you know, if that's the honorable way to die, then I guess that's the way to go."

Nico pulled a thin hand to his mouth. Even though Leo couldn't see his mouth, he just knew he was trying to suppress a smile and some laughter from the way his eyes slanted. It was the same way Annabeth's eyes, or even Frank's did when they were trying not to laugh.

"Whatever," Nico said, wiping the corners of his eyes. "And, uh, thanks."

Leo didn't respond, but gave him a little smile of acknowledgement. He helped Nico up and brushed his face. "All rightie then," Leo said, walking down the hall. Nico was standing now, and waited patiently for Leo to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, "or something." Nico nodded at that, and disappeared into the shadows.

As Leo walked out of sight, Nico exhaled a breath. He had counted the seconds that Leo had stayed with him subconsciously. 

And, oh gods, the reminders that set off the alarms in his head didn't matter now because now the list just got longer.

**_Favors owed: 3._ **

 

* * *

 

 

Nico was never one to cause unnecessary conflict.

When Piper intimately caressed Jason's hair in front of him, he had looked away pathetically. 

When Jason stroked her hair and raked his fingers through her scalp, he had clenched his teeth.

When he looked the other way, Annabeth was hugging Percy with a grin, he had closed his eyes.

And when Percy gave her the tiniest forehead kiss, he had to dig his nails into his arms.

He had no one, while they all had each other.

So, yeah, Nico was never one to cause unnecessary conflict, but he chewed his lower lip when he considered that this wasn't unnecessary--this was totally natural for him to get... pissy.

The only good thing that came out of it was that he ran into Hazel--Nico assumed that she was canoodling with Frank--which he didn't want to think about--who had told him that he could finally go onto the upper deck. He thanked her, because really, she did know that he wanted to get out in the love invested cabins.

 

 

He was halfway up the mast when he heard the faint humming of a familiar Latino boy. 

"Valdez?" he said through gritted teeth. Although he was somewhat thankful for what... he had helped him with, he didn't want to spend the rest of the day sitting next to an over energized talking mechanic.

"Di Angelo," he heard Leo say.

He reached the top of the netting, and placed himself by Leo so he didn't fall.

"You're up here again."

"Very observant of you, di Angelo," Leo said, head facing the other way. After a beat, he said, "So?"

Nico hesitated before answering. "So?  _So?_ This is  _my_ spot, Valdez."

"I don't see your name up here."

Nico frowned. "I've been sitting up here for the past few days. Automatically, it should be  _mine._ "

Leo's voice was softer, yet more aggressive this time. "Well,  _I built the ship_. So, by default, it's  _mine._ "

Nico frowned. "Whatever dude." He scowled at nobody and turned his head the other way. It wasn't like Leo was even trying to make some... interaction. Small talk. It seemed like he didn't feel like doing anything at all.

After a few minutes, maybe even hours, Nico got tired of only hearing the roaring wind, and never a soothing voice. He had secretly wished Leo would ramble on about something, so the everlasting silence would end. 

 

 

After Nico stopped being hissy in his own head, he faced Leo and poked his shoulder. Leo still didn't turn to look at him, but Nico tried to ignore that part. He cleared his throat.

"I hope you know I didn't mean to get snappish." 

He saw Leo shrug his shoulders, and hum in response. "Whatever dude," he mimicked.

Nico scowled again--right after he got it to leave. He bit his tongue back not to curse--which he had found out was okay in this time era. It was okay to speak your mind as long as you didn't offend someone or something.

He ran his fingers through his choppy bangs and sighed. Leo made an inaudible noise in response and had visibly slouched. His hands were curved in a weird way, so the Italian boy decided to look away.

 

 

After a few more moments of silence--Nico wanted to slither away. Leo didn't seem like Leo, and time didn't seem real at all.

The darker haired boy sucked in a breath. "Hey, Leo," he asked.

He poked Leo's shoulder when he didn't answer. "Hey, Leo," he asked again, emphasizing each syllable. Leo looked annoyed--even though Nico couldn't see his face--but he clearly tried to hold whatever emotion he was feeling in.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

Leo's breath had stopped. "Uh, um, yeah..."

Nico eyed him dubiously. "You know, your life force is kind of flickering."

Leo had turned his head, so only half his face showed. "What?" he asked in disbelief. 

"Yeah," Nico mumbled in response. He didn't really like talking about everyone's... life force and how they looked and how they felt and shit. It was wild to explain and such. "Like," he started, "your aura is flickering from lightness to darkness."

He saw Leo's eyes slant downwards. "Huh."

Nico looked down at their shoes. Leo was wearing some type of work boots which looked worn out. Nico looked back at Leo.

The small son of Hades narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with your face?"

Leo chuckled--although to Nico it sounded forced. "Wow, rude much?"

The Italian boy hesitantly gripped on Leo's shoulder to support him while trying to stand up. 

"Hey! What are you doing, di Angelo?"

Nico didn't answer as he clambered over Leo's body. 

Once he got to the other side of Leo, he didn't think about what he was doing. He gripped Leo's face and inspected it.

"You fell straight on your face, it looks like."

True to Nico's words, the right side of Leo's face was blue and purple. Fresh bruises and cuts had seemingly appeared. But from any fall, how could _that_ happen. Nico's eyes narrowed into a deadly slit.

Leo shoved away his cold hands. "Hey," he said, a stretched smile forming on his lips. "Look I just fell while on top of the deck, okay? No need to get so hyped up about it."

The Ghost King got up in the Repair Boy's face. "But this is why you got all pissy?"

Leo scoffed. 

"No no no, let me _finish_. This is why you _are_ so pissy?"

"Look," Leo answered, "everybody's got their bad days. So just like, mind your own freaking business."

The bags under Nico's eyes shifted and Nico sneered. "Fine!" he tried to say. "I'm just trying to help you!"

He needed to get off the stupid, _stupid_ mast, but in order to do so, he needed to get over Leo again. So while he complained about nothing and everything about Leo _to_ Leo, he pushed himself upwards and moved awkwardly to climb over him. His hands roughly placed on his shoulder and his legs weakly supported his weight on the thin line of the mast. 

"Woah, woah, _woah_ di Angelo! What are you doing?"

Nico just kept on moving towards the other side of the platform, ignoring Leo's questions. If he didn't need Nico's help, then _fine_. _Whatever_. He didn't need his help or criticism either.

The Italian boy was so trapped in his own little bubble his didn't hear Leo's voice shout out to him.

"-ico! You're gonna fall!"

It was too late when he had finally snapped out of his trance. Nico was already standing up when the hard gusts of wind shook the pole of the mast. Nico's foot was slipping off the ropes, and had scrambled to hold on to anything that would hold him up. He didn't want to fall.

He saw Leo's tan skin arm out to him. He reached back, and held onto Leo with a grip of steel lightning fast.

Leo groaned at the sudden weight of Nico, as he was continually being forced down by gravity. "Hold on, di Angelo!"

Nico's heart was beating. It happened all so fast. He didn't know how it happened. How fast it happened because of his ignorance. "Valdez," Nico tried to encourage, but Leo just squeezed his eyes shut.

"Shut up man, you're cramping my style!"

Nico rolled his eyes as Leo pulled him up in a few short seconds. Still though, Nico was still annoyed at Leo for not listening to him, but he forced himself to let it go. He needed to know that it was okay that people were hiding stuff, too. "Thanks," Nico mumbled under his breath, clutching his jacket closer to his skin. Leo didn't have a cheery face on like he usually did, but mumbled a response back.

After a few moments of trying to catch his breath, Nico managed to climb down the mast. Leo waved to him, so Nico waved back.

And man, Nico was in a for a ride. Because now his record of favors only grew bigger.

_**Favors owed: 5**_  

 

 

* * *

 

 

Leo noticed Nico. He was still creepy and emo looking, but a change was definitely there. After Jason and Nico went to fetch that scepter from the god of love, both of their attitudes had changed. He wasn't sure what, though. But something was definitely off.

"Hey Jason," Leo hummed one morning, holding a pan of scrambled eggs in front of him. 

Jason yawned in response. "Mornin' dude."

Leo offered some of the food to him. Jason nodded and forked his food into his mouth.

It was still early morning, but Leo was always up around this time. Jason would normally be in his room, doing whatever Jason does in his free time before going into the mess hall with Piper. The skies were still an ember gold and shining a brilliant orange. There were only a few dozen clouds in the sky the last time Leo checked. There was no breeze to be worried about, or no goddess to be tiptoeing around. The place they were flying over was not wreaking havoc, but relaxation. This worried Leo, but he suppose it only because nothing could go this great in the middle of a heated quest. For good things to happen, always bad events followed.

Leo was just waiting for the time to come.

 

 

Leo saw Nico around the mess hall less often. He suspected he was hanging around the mast more.

It was whatever. Leo didnt mind that _he_ was using _his_ spot. It was okay, he had told himself. It was okay because he obviously needed that comfort place more than him, after getting the magical stick from Eros.

They didn’t talk much. Leo kept his mouth shut about his weird encounters with the Italian and the other boy did the same. 

It was the end of the day, where they had barely gone over the “relaxation zone” (dubbed by Piper herself) and all the mushy-gushy lovers of the boat went to retreat back to their own rooms.

Leo told himself he didn’t care. He _couldn’t_  let himself care. 

He had to accept he was alone. He didn’t have anyone to share his affections with.

Nico wasn’t any better than him. He had more frequently gone up to the mast. Without anyone—but the son of Hephaestus—knowing.

It was like a secret shared by the both of them. An unwritten chapter of their journey. 

It made Leo... feel a little less lonely now that he had something to share. And it wasn’t like the Latino boy actually talked to Nico while sitting up there with someone. 

It was just relaxing.

 

 

Nico tried to will his defensive barrier to stay up. He spent most of his time in the infirmary pacing around, anxiety flushing his head with the thought of _Oh gods Jason won’t keep his mouth shut._

He made himself disappear. No one would notice. They never noticed.

Maybe except for one short, flaming elf.

Leo Valdez.

And it wasn’t like he had purposely done it. He had gone up to the mast the worst times of day—which were the times Leo was also up there himself. 

And yeah, it was deemed okay by Nico, because it had subconsciously reassured him that he was not really alone.

One night, after Coach Hedge had assigned Leo the role of the night shift once again, Nico had followed him out.

It wasn’t because they had... grown closer together. The fact was that they just... _got_ each other. They had taken the time to understand in a way that was indescribable. It was like _magic_.

Okay, not really, but still. It was something that neither could explain.

 

A few minutes in the shift, Nico tapped Leo’s arm.

Leo turned to look at him. He readjust his sleeves before responding to the son of Hades. “What’s up?” he asked.

”Could I-“ Nico stopped mid-sentence. He didn’t know how to correctly word his question. 

Leo just sat there patiently, with listening ears.

”Could I just get something off my chest?”

Nico’s voice was small. Soft. Maybe even a little _afraid_. He didn’t know how Leo would react. He didn't know why he was telling him this. After so many times just silently sitting with each other, they felt ... okay together. Like friends.

“Sure. Go ahead. I’m sure I won’t judge,” Leo answered after a second. Both of the boys’ feet were dangling off the netting of the mast, where there was frayed edges around the rope.

Nico tried to make eye contact. The Latino’s eyes seemed to radiate an ember glow. Like the soft tinge of a fire. It calmed Nico's nerves. Only a bit.

“Today,” he started. His throat seemed to close up. He took a deep breath in.

_You're not in a hurry,_ he told himself,  _take your time._

After a few seconds of silence, and Leo just waiting patiently, he continued. “Today,” he repeated with force, “while Jason and I were getting the scepter, I-“

His eyes watered.  _Gods,_ he said to himself,  _why am I like this?_

”Today I realized that I can’t change who I am. And I hate myself for that.”

He quickly wiped away the falling tears that were on his cheeks. He hoped Leo didn’t notice. He hoped that he didn’t seem weak.

Leo didn’t comment.

Though, he held out his fingers and put them up periodically like little candles, because he knew it had made Nico calm. The lit and unlit and glowed an orange, casting shadows on Leo's elfish face. The Italian probably didn’t notice, but Leo hoped that it did.

Because Leo knew first hand how that felt.

 

Nico didn’t comment or add anything to what he just said. Leo didn't talk about his inventions to distract him— _no, actually_ —to distract _both_ of them.

Nico wished he didn’t. He wished he didn’t bring up the fact that he had hated himself. _No_. Correction— _still_ hated himself. He wished that Leo wasn’t so quiet about it. How he had acted like he hadn't heard it and instead made fire to his fingers.

He wished that Leo wasn’t questioning everything. He desperately—though he would never say out loud—wished that Leo wasn’t using a raspy voice to tell him that it was okay.

He wished that his tears weren’t visible, and that everything that had happened so far was all a dream. He wished that his whole fucking life wasn’t a _nightmare_.

He wished that Leo Valdez wouldn’t save him from drowning in his own salty, overflowing tears. Because it made all his dark, secret desires harder to do.

He wished that Leo fucking Valdez—the embodiment of flames—wouldn’t have to ramble on about his genius inventions so he didn’t have to voice his own-

Nico sobbed even harder, but Leo just hesitantly ran his hand over the dip of his back.

The Italian was leaning against Leo's shoulder, face down so he couldn't see his face.

Oh gods. Nico was in some deep schist now. Because while Leo attempted to make Nico feel better, the black haired boy just mentally counted the tallies in his head. 

It just made everything much worse.

_**Favors owed: 6** _

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

When the actual fucking war was over, Nico lost sight of who he was.

Where Ghost King ended and where Nico di Angelo started. Everything was a blur.

Everything was either a blank or too vivid. He remembered a blond, freckled boy ushering him into the camp infirmary. He remembered the big burst in the sky when Gaea had appeared. He remembered a heart quenching feeling in the middle of his chest when it went off. He remembered when Percy had to hold him back from the flaming ashes.

Even though he didn't know how he felt about Leo, he still sensed his death. A deep, painful death.

He wanted to scream.

The feeling he got when Leo was blasted out of the sky, was just an amplified feeling of what he felt before. A time ago on Argo II, where they both sat at the mast, silently talking.

He remembered Leo teaching him Morse Code and how most of his inventions worked, and how he made his tofu tacos, and his stories with Piper and their pranks, and his suck ass foster homes, and how he asked Nico reluctantly how Tartarus felt like, and Leo asking what compared it to drowning in sorrow, and how Nico would show Leo how he manipulated shadows, and showing Leo what it felt like to shadow travel, and Leo using his energy to light marshmallows to a golden crisp just for him, and how they would go up on the mast at night and star gaze, and try to find the most constellations and-

Nico's breath hitched. He had just finished up helping Will out in the infirmary with someone's broken arm when he saw him. Leo.

He was just standing there. Nose dashed with grease like he had never died before, and soft curls covering the first half of his face.

No one moved to greet him, so Nico rubbed his eyes. That couldn't be a trick.

"L-Leo?" he said, once he finished clearing his mind and he didn't disappear. He started approaching Leo.

Nico couldn't sense if Leo was dead or not.

"Leo?" he repeated, louder this time. A few people turned to look. Their mouths started gaping open. 

"Nico," Leo finally said, voice hoarse. He tucked his hands together, looked to the ground.

"It's bee six months, Leo," he stuttered out. "How did you ... what?"

Leo scratched his arm. "Well, I'm here now." He hadn't moved yet. Some people were staring now, some moving away and others leaning closer.

Someone was pushing through the crowd, yelling something out. "Move, guys, this is a safety hazard!" Nico heard Will say.

Nobody really listened, and Will finally made it to the source of the crowd. "Are the gods playing tricks," Will whispered, eyes filled with wonder. "I thought-"

Leo coughed into his inner elbow. "Y-yeah, it's me."

A beat of silence.

Then a roar of cheering.

"You're alive? How?" asked Will first, touching his shoulder. "You-you blew up, if I remember correctly."

Leo forced a chuckle out. Will probably didn't notice, but Nico could spot it out a mile away. "Y-yeah. I did, technically."

Will's grin cracked open even further. "Wow, really? I didn't think that the gods would allow you to-to you know?"

Leo shrugged. "You guys can save the questions for later. I need to talk to Chiron."

Will nodded solemnly. "Of course. I'll take you to him right now."

Before Leo left, he glanced at Nico. "I'm glad to see you at camp," he whispered. He turned away before Nico could answer.

 

Nico was waiting outside the door of the Big House.

Leo was there. Nico couldn't believe it.

After all those months, after all those tears, what had happened?

Nico knew for sure that his dad, Hades, and even his general, Thanatos, wouldn't ever let a soul escape. They would catch his for sure.

He wondered what Leo did the past six months. Hide? Where though? Where could he have gone that his dreams couldn't see? 

Nico wanted to cry, cry so much for the pain that had happened. How the person he ... _liked_ had  _died_ and suddenly came back six months later. 

But not he didn't want to cry. He wanted to punch something. Someone.  _Anyone._ How could Leo sacrifice himself like that? Did he want to die? Was that it? He would've dropped his soul just like _that_ if he had the chance again? Why would he leave like that? Why would he leave his brothers and sisters and his friends and Nico, especially?

He missed Leo. He mourned. He recovered. He made a  _memorial_. He cried countless days and countless nights. Dreaming ever waking second if his ... best friend would come back. But to no avail, nothing happened.

Until  _now._

 

 

Leo was sitting at the Hephaestus table for dinner. Nico noticed he didn't eat much, except for a few small carrots.

He also noticed that he wasn't as talkative. Wasn't as energetic. Wasn't as  _Leo._

Something wasn't right. Nico needed to find out what.

 

After the dinner, when the curfew thing was only a few minutes away, and Leo said he was going to the bunker, Nico had swiftly followed.

"Leo," Nico first greeted when they started towards the bunked. Leo's face was emotionless.

"Nico," he countered. 

The son of Hades sucked in a breath quietly. Leo had grown taller. Much taller from before. He maybe had two or three inches on Nico, and his hair looked like it was finally combed through. His face was still elfish and pointy but ... still. Something was off.

"Can I ask you what happened when you blew up in front of me and I sensed you died?"

Leo didn't say anything, and then Nico thought,  _Good job, idiot. Now he's not talking._

A few moments passed, where they just went through the forest to get to the bunker. Leo said nothing, eyes straight ahead. Not fidgeting. While Nico took every so seconds to glance at the son of Hephaestus. 

"I can tell you tomorrow," Leo finally said. "I will tell you tomorrow."

Nico nodded, swallowing something stuck in his throat. "Okay."

Leo stopped suddenly, pausing before letting Nico see the bunker. 

The door was rusty, and a patch of vines had grown all over it. "This is it, Nico," Leo said, eyes watered up.

"What?" Nico said back. "What do you mean?"

Leo didn't answer as he slid the two doors open. Inside was dusty, but you could definitely see all the hidden details of the furniture.

Inside, there was a few metal scraps, with blueprints of some kind.

Nico wondered what Leo would start doing now.

 

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you come back to life?"

"I took some magic potion."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Are you ... are you sad?"

"No!? ... Why?"

"I can feel it radiating off of you."

"Oh."

"Are you okay? You're not as warm as usual."

"Oh, I am. I don't know why my temperature isn't normal right now."

"Oh, okay."

A beat passed while Leo pulled some tools out of a box.

"Can we talk about something. You're usually not this quiet."

"Nico, a lot of things can happen in six months. I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Oh. Okay."

"Don't take it the wrong way, okay? It's my first time in camp in a long time."

"Yeah, I know. I just want it to be like the Argo II where you blab about stuff and I listen."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Leo stopped rummaging through the box.

"I'll tell you a story my mom used to tell me before I went to bed, if you'd like."

Nico paused. 

"Sure."

 

Leo never got to tell that story. He fell asleep the moment he had sat down on a chair, a few tools laid out before him. Nico was just blabbing about something when her heard Leo's head hit the wooden table. 

 

 

After the actual whole fucking war was over, and Nico tried (and successfully did) evidently avoid all his paths with Leo, he had faded into the shadows. He hadn't suspected anyone would know that he disappeared. He had told himself that was okay. He wanted that.

Of course, every few weeks at a time, he would visit each camp before going wherever he wished to. The last place he had headed off to Northern Europe. He wanted to actually live a life he wanted to before dying.

He had just traveled across the actual US to visit Camp Half Blood. Reyna told him to send her regards Rachel Dare, so he obediently attempted to. He was at the train station in central Manhattan, when he ran into Leo.

He was all skippish at first. Fidgety and rambled like normal. Except. Nico could feel something off. 

“So how’s Camp Jupiter going? I assumed you just came back from there?”

Nico just shrugged. “Doing good. Annabeth and Percy are doing great with their studies. Reyna says hi, by the way.”

Leo just nodded, avoiding all eye-contact.

And that. That was it. That small human interaction—the whole eye contact thing—Leo was averting his eyes. Yes. That was it. That was the thing that felt off. 

”You okay, Valdez?”

Leo actually looked up this time, and had a small smile on his lips. It was stretched thin and way too fake. Nico narrowed his eyes at the words that came after.

”Yeah. I’m fine.”

Nico stepped closer to Leo. His usual “camp fire” smell thing was extinguished. It was replaced with the scent of...

Nico stepped back.

It was replaced with the scent of death. 

Well, not particularly, but Nico could just sense it. Like he could sense who was talking to him just from listening to their voice.

Actually. Scratch that. That was a not so good analogy, but you get the point.

”Well, I’m just heading back to camp if you want to come back with me.”

Leo visibly swallowed. “Okay.”

They both gazed at the ground instead of talking. 

Nico considered that one of the many favor he owed returned.

Gods, he thought. I wonder what would’ve happened if I didn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> towards the end of the story it seemed  
> rushed, so sorry about that...
> 
> it literally took me a month to write this  
> and uh, please leave kudos and reviews  
> and constructive criticism is  
> always welcome


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